"52 great authors, their best short fiction, and their insights on writing"--Cover.

Distilled from decades of teaching and practice, 'Creating Short Fiction' offers no-nonsense advise on structure, pacing, dialogue, getting ideas, and much more.

If a story is going to fail, it will do so first at the premise level. Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success is the only book of its kind to identify a seven-step development process that can be repeated and applied to any story idea. This process will save you time, money, and potentially months of wasted writing. So whether you are trying to write a feature screenplay, develop a television pilot, or just trying to figure out your next story move as a writer, this book gives you the tools you need to know which ideas are worth pursuing. In addition to the 7-step premise development tool, Anatomy of a Premise Line also presents a premise and idea testing methodology that can be used to test any developed premise line. Customized exercises and worksheets are included to facilitate knowledge transfer, so that by the end of the book, you will have a fully developed premise line, log line, tagline, and a completed premise-testing checklist. Here is some of what you will learn inside: Ways to determine whether or not your story is a good fit for print or screen Case studies and hands-on worksheets to help you learn by participating in the process Tips on how to effectively work through writer’s block A companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/lyons) with additional worksheets, videos, and interactive tools to help you learn the basics of perfecting a killer premise line

On Writing Short Stories, Second Edition, explores the art and craft of writing short fiction by bringing together nine original essays by professional writers and thirty-three examples of short fiction. The first section features original essays by well-known authors--including Francine Prose, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andre Dubus--that guide students through the process of writing. Focusing on the characteristics and craft of the short story and its writer, these essays take students from the workshopping process all the way through to the experience of working with agents and publishers. The second part of the text is an anthology of stories--many referred to in the essays--that give students dynamic examples of technique brought to life.

You always wanted to write short stories but you have no idea where to begin.Do you want to become better at writing fiction?Perhaps you find it hard to come up with ideas for a story or to devise a plot. Maybe you have difficulty developing your own style or is your dialogue rusty.N.A. Turner is here to help you navigate the land of short story writing from outlining your story to attracting readers. Every aspiring writer dreams of people reading his or her work. Short story writing is a way of both developing your writing style and to introduce your talent to potential readers. At the start of their career, the likes of Stephen King and Charles Bukowski made a name for themselves by writing and publishing short stories.Learn more about N.A. Turner's writing tips based on his experience and research.This guide teaches you: - How to write well-structured short stories- How to determine your theme- How to plot your story- How to create engaging, interesting characters- How to build a fictional world- How to write scenes and clear dialogue- How to get to that first draft and edit your story- How to publish your short stories in the current market- And much moreThis guidebook will show you a step-by-step process to successfully write and publish short stories. From developing an idea to attracting readers online. This comprehensive, step-by-step guide is all you need to get started.

Write It Short, Sell It Now Short stories and personal essays have never been hotter--or more crucial for a successful writing career. Earning bylines in magazines and literary journals is a terrific way to get noticed and earn future opportunities in both short- and long-form writing. Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays capitalizes on the popularity of these genres by instructing on the two key steps to publishing short works: crafting excellent pieces and successfully submitting them. You'll learn how to: • Develop different craft elements--including point of view, character, dialogue, scene writing, and more--specifically for short stories and essays. • Recognize the qualities of excellent short works, using examples from recently published stories and essays in major journals. • Understand the business of writing short, from categorizing your work and meeting submission guidelines to networking and submitting to writing contests. • Master the five-step process for submitting and selling like a pro. Featuring advice and examples from a multitude of published authors, Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays is a must-have for any writer's bookshelf.

Ideal for those new to the genre or for anyone who wishes to improve their technique, Ailsa Cox’s guide will help readers achieve their full potential as a short story writer. The book encourages you to be inventive, to break writing habits and to try something new, by showing the diversity of the short story genre, from cyberpunk to social observation. Each chapter of the book: introduces key aspects of the craft of short story writing, including structure, dialogue, characterization, viewpoint, narrative voice and more shows how a wide variety of published writers have approached the short story genre, in order to deepen the insights you gain from your own work gets you writing, with a series of original, sometimes challenging but always rewarding exercises, which can be tackled alone or adapted for use in a group includes activities at the end of each chapter. Ailsa Cox draws on her experience as a writer to provide essential information on drafting and editing, as well as a rich Resources section, which lists print and online journals that accept the work of new writers. Whether you’re writing as part of a course, in a workshop group or at home alone, this book will equip and inspire you to write better short stories, and make you a more skilled, enthusiastic and motivated writer of short stories.